If you're new to food and wine pairing and have a romantic Valentine dinner in mind, to not fail you have to match the food with the right wine. Here’s how to do it.
Fabulous food is a wonderful way to celebrate Valentine’s Day on February 14. Great food can be enhanced by delicious wine, too, as long as those wines are perfectly suited to the edibles in question. Get it wrong, and the tastes don’t complement each other. Get it right, and the food can enrich the wine, and vice versa. But what wine goes with which food, and why?
“Whether you’re wooing someone new or romancing your long term partner this Valentine’s Day at home or in a restaurant, the meal should be something to remember,” says drinks expert Daniel Ufland, of The Whisky Masters “A marriage between scrumptious food and the wine best suited to it can help make for a fantastic edible experience. But you’ve got to know which wine to drink with what food. Get that right, and the food and the wine will fall in love.”
About this, the drinks expert recommends matchmaking the following fine wines with the meal types and courses best suited to them – and the other way around.
Wines that were born to be with certain food forever:
Starters: Choose a Prosecco, Champagne or sparkling wine to sip with your entrees and celebrate the occasion.
Seafood: Sensational seafood loves to be enjoyed with crisp white wine.
“Choose something light with fruity notes like a quality Chenin Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Albariño, Muscadet, and Vermentino,” says Daniel Ufland. “These wines tread lightly on your tongue and won't overwhelm the subtle flavors of the frutti di mare”.
Poultry: Which wine to relish with poultry on your romantic date depends on the type of poultry and how it is cooked. “Light reds like Pinot Noir, Beaujolais, Merlot, Shiraz, or lean, crisp whites like Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, and also unoaked Chardonnay, and Chenin Blanc will all dance with your poultry on your tongue as long as the moment lasts. ”
Red Meat … generally demands red wine. And in the common imagination, red wines are synonyms of passion and romance. Classic, fuller-bodied reds like Malbec, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, and Merlot work perfectly with things like steak and other red meat based feasts.
Vegetarian Options: The veggie food-wine combi is a bit less bound by tradition than the meaty options. But meat-free dining options, like roasted vegetables, complement wine with fruity notes like Grenache or Zinfandel. And glorious steamed veggies love crisp light wines such as Pinot Grigio or Verdejo.
“The flavors of stir-fried vegetables can be elevated by versatile wines like Viognier or Chenin Blanc. Whereas butternut squash dishes want to be with wine with harmonizing richness and aromatic complexity, like a Côtes du Luberon Rouge, Pinot Gris, Gewürztraminer, Napa Valley Chardonnay, or Condrieu.”Dessert: Sweet wines pair well with a lover's sweet tooth, however be careful in choosing this pairing: you don’t want to appear trivial just now, do you?
“When choosing a wine to drink with your dessert, consider the wine's sweetness, acidity, and color - suggests Ufland. “ Sweet Moscato d'Asti goes well with cake, whereas Spanish Moscatel likes to flirt with chocolate mousse. Lovers of chocolate puddings should make eyes at late-harvest Riesling; and Brachetto d'Acqui is a semi-sparkling Italian red that lights up chocolate mousse and apple pie with its high notes. Pure opera”.
“When choosing the right wine to have with your Valentine’s Day meal, you should prioritize one thing above all others: your partner’s preferences - The Whisky Master says - If you agree with each other and want to learn more about the world of wine, a general rule of thumb is that lighter-bodied wines go well with lighter dishes, whereas intense wines tend to pair well with heartier dishes. The ideal wine to drink with certain foods is largely a question of tradition and personal taste. It also depends on the specific type of food and the way it's prepared, and the wine's peculiarities. Not all wines with the same names are the same. They can vary according to area of provenance, grape harvesting methods, storage, transport, and more. The temperature at which they are served is very important, too. So do your research if you want to make a meal of this!
Bon Appetit - and remember that music is the food of love. What you drink with that is up to you!”